Ealing unveils £13,000 ‘rubbish’ Christmas tree

A Christmas tree made up of 900 recycled plastic bottles – which came with a price tag of £12,961 – was unveiled in Ealing earlier this month.

The six-metre tall tree was built by artist Ashley Phillips and is part of the council’s larger campaign to encourage people to recycle 50% of the waste in the borough by 2020.

The council hopes the Christmas tree will “make people think” and recycle more.

Referring to the huge cost, which paid for the design, construction and lighting of the tree, a spokesperson from Ealing Council said: “Over the festive period the amount of waste we send to landfill rises by 20%, costing us more than £1 million. If we can inspire people to recycle more and reduce the amount of waste in December and January by a tiny amount then the tree will have paid for itself.”

The council said the tree can hired by other organisations and reused.